What began as a small effort to earn extra income during university has grown into an entrepreneurial journey for Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) alumnus Adri Mustaqim Amrul Hazari, founder of Victo Authentic.
While pursuing his business studies at UniKL Business School, Adri began selling homemade food to fellow students to support his daily expenses and become financially independent.
His passion for cooking provided the first opportunity. Encouraged by positive feedback from friends, he gradually explored other ways to turn his interests into business opportunities.
Adri shared his entrepreneurial journey in the second episode of Macam Tulah, a podcast produced by Malaysia Tribune, reflecting on how his university experience shaped his approach to business.
The turning point came when Adri, an active rugby player representing UniKL, noticed an opportunity to improve the designs of university sports club apparel.
Despite having no formal background in graphic design, he took the initiative to learn through YouTube tutorials, developing skills in image editing, graphic design and apparel customisation.
His first designs were created for the UniKL rugby club. The initiative soon attracted interest from fellow students who wanted customised apparel for their respective university clubs.
Recognising the business potential, Adri began accepting orders and sourcing clothing manufacturers through online searches, despite having limited industry connections and no established supplier network.
Through recommendations and word-of-mouth promotion, his small venture gradually gained customers beyond his immediate circle.
Although he initially received only two or three orders a month, each project provided valuable experience in customer engagement, pricing, production management and business operations.
In 2017, Adri established his venture under the name Victorian Boys Resources, marking an important milestone in his entrepreneurial journey.
He subsequently formalised the business as Victo Authentic Enterprise after undertaking a small business management course during his final semester at UniKL Business School.
One of Adri’s most memorable business experiences took place in 2019 while he was completing his industrial training at PETRONAS.
He received an urgent order for 300 customised shirts from students at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), with a tight deadline requiring delivery before a Friday event.
Determined to honour his commitment, Adri coordinated the production process and ensured the shirts were completed by Thursday.
He then travelled by Electric Train Service (ETS) to personally deliver the order to the customers in northern Peninsular Malaysia.
The experience reinforced an important lesson about entrepreneurship: building a successful business requires more than producing quality products.
It also demands accountability, reliability and the ability to fulfil customer expectations, particularly under challenging circumstances.
For Adri, meeting customer commitments became a defining principle in developing long-term business relationships and strengthening trust in his brand.
What started with selling food and designing rugby club apparel eventually developed into a growing clothing business.
Over the following years, Adri progressively expanded his operations, recruited employees and invested in machinery to strengthen his production capabilities.
His story aligns with UniKL’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education, particularly through entrepreneurship education and practical skills development, and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, through enterprise development and job creation.
